All posts by lalla

I am a physical therapist trying to get the word out about basic advice and tips to help ease and prevent joint pain. I have also recently met a weight loss goal and have lost over 60 pounds in the last year. I fell in love with cooking during this process and would like to share tasty recipe ideas. Overall my goal is to promote a healthy lifestyle and to give people a better idea of how physical therapy can truly help change your life and improve overall functional outcomes.

After spending several weekends in Montauk how can one not order some fresh lobster and try creating a sandwich like this on your own? I “tried” to keep it healthy by using light mayonnaise as a coating, but hey… when you’re at the beach who is paying attention anyway?

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This may not be the most healthy thing I have posted as a recipe, but hey.. we are all human and we all indulge a little. It was so good so it was hard for me not to let this SIMPLE recipe out. I was at the beach three weekends in a row and woke up one day realizing we did not have much for breakfast after scoping out the fridge/pantry. I then realized I had these three ingredients and thought, why not!?

Please note: new section entitled guilty pleasures. Why? I mean… let’s be realistic, it’s ok to eat healthy most of the time and indulge once in a while!

Recipe
Toast slice of bread and add some butter to one side
Cook the egg a few minutes one each side but not overdone enough that the yolk is cooked
Add 1-2 slices of bacon to pain and cook until crisp
Add salt to taste on sliced avocado then lay the avocado on the piece of toasted bread
Add 1-2 slices of bacon
Add egg on top
Drizzle with hot sauce of choice

This is a great spinach recipe packed full of flavor. I get tired of traditional ways of cooking with olive oil and garlic and needed to mix it up. If you are vegan and do not want to do cheese you can substitute the cheese with tofu.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer or tofu and gently toss. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.

2. Place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat with oil add the paneer and cook until browned on one side. Flip the paneer over and cook until other side if brown. Once finished, move onto a plate.

3. Add additional oil to the pan if needed. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chile. Saute the mixture until golden brown; about 10-15 minutes. Don’t skip this step – this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.

4. Add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. If you haven’t already, sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, scent of the spices cook out, about 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the spinach and stir well, making sure spiced onion mixture is well incorporated into the spinach. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and cook about 5 minutes.

5. Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt slowly to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer turn the heat back on until warmed through.

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the chopped onion and one teaspoon of cumin seeds to the oil.
3. Stir together and cook until onions become golden and translucent.
4. Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt.
5. Add chopped chili and stir tomatoes into onion mixture.
6. Add ginger and garlic and mix thoroughly.
7. Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn’t stick to the saucepan).
8. Make sure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce.
9. Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked).
10. Add two teaspoons of garam masala and stir.
11. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry.
12. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.

This recipe tastes best if left alone for a few hours to let the spices mesh together.

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, and chiles and season with kosher salt. Cook until the onions have softened.

2. Meanwhile, set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Strain the tomatoes and reserve the juices. Coarsely chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

3. When the onions have softened, add the garam masala, coriander, measured salt, and turmeric to the frying pan and stir to coat the onion mixture. Cook, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes, their reserved juices, the chickpeas, and the water. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

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Want to add some spice to your shrimp or salmon? Try this easy indian-inspired recipe for a dish packed full of flavor.

I used a pound of salmon filet and 1 pound of shrimp when I made this dish… mostly for leftovers and to share for a Sunday dinner. You will have to buy the garam masala at an international or indian grocery store. I am unsure if Whole Foods sells it. Also, I forgot to take a picture of the salmon.. sigh. I made this marinade twice for each type of fish.

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Decided to put together my own spice mix when I could not figure out how the make this tilapia more interesting than butter and lemon.. it definitely has a kick so use the amount of cayenne pepper at caution; unless you don’t mind a kick in your food